Saturday turned costly on the health front for Washington. On top of seeing Pierre-Luc Dubois exit hurt, the Capitals also watched Rasmus Sandin leave early in their 6-3 triumph against Pittsburgh ahead of the final buzzer.
It unraveled late, during the game's third frame, while the defenseman attempted to slip through traffic near a faceoff. Justin Brazeau, a Pittsburgh forward, leveled him flush by delivering a hip-check, and the Swedish 26-year-old instantly buckled, twisting in discomfort while reaching for his right leg, gripping it low along the back.
Play was whistled dead, prompting the appearance of Jason Serbus, who heads Washington's athletic training staff and came out to tend to him. Unable to leave on his own, Sandin needed Justin Sourdif and Brandon Duhaime to carry him toward the bench before the medical group escorted him through the tunnel.
Although the contact appeared to be a Brazeau interference penalty, the officiating crew huddled to review the sequence and, in the end, opted against calling anything.
Manning the right of the club's top duo beside Martin Fehervary, Sandin had logged 15:35 worth of action prior to exiting, registering a lone shot plus one hit. Following the final buzzer, bench boss Spencer Carbery indicated that clearer information about the defenseman's status would surface later.
Carbery told reporters the staff expected to learn more that night and that he intended to check with Serbus, promising he'd offer something the next day.
With one fewer body available, all five of the other blueliners eclipsed the 19-minute mark during the victory, and Jakob Chychrun, whose 23:09 paced the group, led that charge. Lately the roster has carried a trio of surplus defenders — Dylan McIlrath, then Declan Chisholm, plus Timothy Liljegren — each of whom has rotated through duty as a healthy scratch across the past few weeks.
So far this year, Sandin had dressed for 73 of Washington's 80 outings, recording five goals and 24 assists for 29 points while logging an average of 19:12 per night. His lengthiest stretch on the shelf had come earlier, back in October, when trouble with his upper body kept him out five games.